I'm afraid this page won't be of much use to you unless you own some version of Google SketchUp, the program I used to create all these 3D D&D "miniatures" with. You can download a free "trial version" of the program, but it only lasts about 8 hours before it starts asking you for password authorization.

While I call them "miniatures," all of the models I've posted at Google's 3D Warehouse are in fact drawn to scale, specifically D&D's scale where everything is drawn in 5' to 10' increments. Furthermore, the "Instant Town" models attempt to mimic the style of the old fold-up paper models from WotC's Map Folio 3D. That, and they all follow the layouts provided in DCC #28 Into the Wilds map for Wildsgate, which is the map that got me started on this whole 3D D&D kick.

I just added a new Intant City Walls and an Instant Fort section, so if you need some quick and dirty digital 3D models for gaming purposes, you need search no further.

_________________"When in doubt, play a Cleric. They decide who lives and who dies." -None the Wiser

I'm afraid this page won't be of much use to you unless you own some version of Google SketchUp, the program I used to create all these 3D D&D "miniatures" with. You can download a free "trial version" of the program, but it only lasts about 8 hours before it starts asking you for password authorization.

I just wanted to say that the limit of 8 hours is for the Sketchup Pro version. There is a free Sketchup version without time limitation. The main difference is that only the Pro version let you export your work in 3D format. But if you just want to export images, the free version works well.Here is an export from your Sunken _Ziggurat with the normal Sketchup version.

Sketchup is a real wonderful application. I have been using it for some times and though I have never used 3D apps before, I have been impressed by its ease of use.

Before seeing your posts here, I had not thought of using it for RPG mapping, this is a very bright idea.

RE: Bhoritz: Hey, glad you found the models useful and thanks for posting the SketchUp info!

As you can tell, it’s been a while since my last posting. Suffice it to say, I’ve been busy doing Other Things. Mostly I’ve been enjoying some time off from DMing while we’ve been playtesting 4E. I must admit that from both the PC and DM point of view, 4E is a MUCH more balanced and varied game than D&D 3.5. The character builds are more restrictive, but the game play is far more interesting and fluid. But this is really a subject for a different post…

The subject of this particular post is that I just recently updated my 3D Warehouse page with a new collection called “Instant City: Hillthorn.” I had originally planned to map out every single building from the Hadler’s Gap map from the Saga of the Dragon Cult boxed set, but the town layout felt a little too undefended for a proper “Point of Light” 4E home base. So when I got a hold of the Cillamar map from the Kingdom of Morrain Gazetteer I KNEW this was the city perfectly suited for modeling in SketchUp.

Unfortunately, by the time I had fully populated the city with buildings, the file had become much too large to post at 3D Warehouse, so I emptied the map of all but the bare essentials. The pics below were rendered using my fully populated map, but you won’t be able to download an exact replica. Instead, I posted a large map of the castle and surrounding walls with empty city blocks for you to fill in on your own. The idea is that you can borrow pre-made building models from my other 3D Warehouse collections to populate the re-christened city of Hillthorn yourself. Hopefully no two Hillthorn maps will end up looking quite the same, but each will still bear the central landmark of the tall Wizard’s Tower on the outskirts of town (the Thorn on the Hill).

A note about the scale: I actually managed to fit the scale of the Cillamar map precisely, but the buildings on the original map all seemed a bit on the smallish side to me.The “small” cabins I placed on this map are 10’ wide x 20’ long. Bear in mind that the average parking space is only about 9’ by 20’. So 10’ by 20’ is really more of a shack or a shed than a “cabin.” The only thing on the map smaller than that is what I call a “hovel” which is a circular hut 10’ in diameter. You’ll also notice that I opted for octagonal rather than circular towers for the whole castle section. I had my reasons (mostly to accommodate the sloping outer walls).

This is the beauty-shot taken from the viewpoint of standing atop the lighthouse on the southwest corner of town.

_________________"When in doubt, play a Cleric. They decide who lives and who dies." -None the Wiser

Just wanted to say I continue to be an admirer of your creative endeavors. Thanks a ton, my players are appreciative too. In fact you have inspired me to try my hand at using Sketchup and my attempt can be found here. http://groups.google.com/group/fantasy-sketchup-mapping/web/ghelves-locks I had fun incorporating the use of layers and scenes into my small work. I even managed to use layers to sneak in a secret door underneath the stairs. If you wanna play with the layers and scenes there is zip available at the above link. Thanks again, love your work.

Sorry I've been away for a while (again). Part of the reason I don't post as much lately is that I haven't DMed since 4th Edition came out. I'm involved in two gaming groups now, one 4E Forgotten Realms and one generic 4E game. The generic 4E game might switch to an Eberron campaign soon if we switch DMs.

I'm still having fun generating visual aids for our games, of course. For instance, I did this Fallcrest Terrain Map in SketchUp:

Unfortunately, I can only post 10MB files on 3D-Warehouse, so I wasn't able to populate the entire model with buildings, but I did post a paired down version. Here is a direct link to my Fallcrest collection:

For those of you who have found my SketchUp models useful for creating and developing visual aids, my new GENERICA SketchUp project kicks it up a whole other notch! Mr. Hook’s GENERICA models are meant to be the virtual LEGO of D&D mapping tools. With GENERICA’s pre-scaled, pre-textured wall units, you can build your own 3D models AND produce perfectly readable RPG maps when viewed from the top down!

This project has been a labor of love for me. After a couple of false starts and various file-size quandaries, I think I finally have most of the kinks ironed out. The main objective of the GENERICA SketchUp project is to allow Game Masters to construct RPG maps which can also provide exterior AND interior perspective renderings of said maps. GENERICA Castle sets kick things up yet another notch with modular towers, stairwells and wall-walks you can quickly and easily re-arrange to fit your own castle designs.

Rather than post every single SketchUp component separately, I have compiled my GENERICA modules into “Wall Set” collections, sort of like a box of building blocks you can use to build your own RPG maps with. For each uniquely textured Wall Set, I have also created a corresponding model to demonstrate what sorts of structures can be built with GENERICA wall sections. So the GENERICA Wall Set: Inn model contains all of the individual building blocks which have been designed and textured to facilitate the construction of inn and tavern models. Whereas the GENERICA: Inn model is a fully furnished and designed structure which has been divided into separate floors.

The way in which I’ve divided the grouped GENERICA components into separate floors is a rather important feature which enables you to hide the floors above to reveal the floors below when generating top-down RPG maps for each floor. I have provided textures for various flooring materials, but I can’t supply you with every conceivable floor plan, so you’ll have to create your own floor sections (or modify the floors provided). Likewise, I can’t provide you with every conceivable roofing solution, so there are no GENERICA roof components per se. However, I have invented several roofing solutions for my own GENERICA model designs which can be modified or rebuilt to meet your own roofing needs.

All GENERICA wall sections are meant to fit a standard 1 square = 5 feet RPG tabletop gaming grid. Each wall section is 10 feet tall. The floor space in between each storey is 1 foot thick. Most “ground floor” sections have an additional foot of material at the base to represent the building foundation.

This is what a typical GENERICA Wall Set looks like, just a jumble of building bits. This is the Barn texture set.

I made this horse stable building using GENERCIA Wall Set: Barn modules.

Viewed from the top down using the Parallel Projection Camera, you can generate maps by hiding the roof and the upper floors. Of course, this only works if you’ve grouped the roof and each storey separately, which isn’t really very hard if you utilize the parallel projected side and front views when making your selections.

Here is my first big GENERICA model: the quintessential Inn.

Perhaps your adventuring party met around a tavern table much like this one. You can see the service window to the kitchen on the right and a wooden stairwell on the far left.

From the second storey balcony looking down into the dining area, you can see the doors to the individual rooms around the periphery.

So here are the floor plans for each of those two stories on the Inn model. The third storey was only roofing. The room above the kitchen is supposed to be the innkeeper’s room and the rooms with small balconies on either side are the honeymoon suites.

I’m particularly proud of my church model since I was able to incorporate flying buttresses and even made my own gargoyles.

As you can see looking down the center aisle, even though the church is three stories tall, the first floor takes up the first two stories, while the surrounding balconies lead to directly to a parapet on the roof of the second storey.

So this is only the ground floor of the church which shows you the sepulcher tucked away behind the arms of the ambulatory.

Here is the 3D perspective view of GENERICA: Mansion. Like the church, the ground floor actually takes up the first two stories, while the master bedroom and the private library are located on the third floor.

Again, the whole point of the entire GENERICA project is that you can hide the upper floors in saved SketchUp scenes to generate perfectly readable RPG maps in the top-down view.

GENERICA Castle sets are a little different in that the wall sections are much thicker and that the battle grid is much larger. The modular tower cross-sections can be stacked and recombined in a myriad of ways with windows and doorways pointing in various directions. Here on the overhead map you can see the King’s Court situated on the south side of the map, connected directly to a Feasting Hall on the right. There are two barracks buildings adjoined to the inner baileys on either side of the northern courtyard.

For the castle pics, I turned on the shadows to help add a little more depth. Here is a lovely view of the drawbridge.

Since the crenellation is technically a part of the walls, I colored the tops of the merlons with the same dark grey color as the rest of the wall sections. In SketchUp you can easily edit the texture to be a lighter shade of grey for rendering purposes.

This if the view from the southeast watchtower looking down into the main courtyard. With SketchUp’s easy-to-use camera positioning tool, the possibilities for creating RPG visual aids with the GENERICA modeling system are virtually endless.

_________________"When in doubt, play a Cleric. They decide who lives and who dies." -None the Wiser

Curious... This sketchup program... are you using the Pro version? or the free version?

For doing RPG stuff I couldn't see being able to buy that program

I think I was using SketchUp 7 Pro when I made most of those models. I currently use the free version of SketchUp 8, though there is now a newer version available.

You really only need the Pro version if you plan on importing Auto-CAD files or exporting 3D Max files and such. The Pro version also has some nifty tie-ins with Google Earth mapping coordinates. For instance, you can tell SketchUp to change the angle of the sun as though your model is located in a specific city on the planet Earth. But if you don't know (or care) where your model is located on a real world map, the free version will certainly suffice. If RPG / Hobby modeling is your thing, the free version is all you really need!

_________________"When in doubt, play a Cleric. They decide who lives and who dies." -None the Wiser

I tried to mimic the roof layout of the Acre cathedral from the original Assassin's Creed game. My DM stopped table-top gaming to focus on his writing career over a year ago, so I've been relying on things like the Assassin's Creed franchise and Skyrim to get my Fantasy RPG fix as of late. (That, and WAY too much Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer).

I just started a new job at a sign printing company and I've been updating my online presence all over the www. I'm still working on an "official" GENERICA web page and sample render gallery. Stay tuned!

_________________"When in doubt, play a Cleric. They decide who lives and who dies." -None the Wiser

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